Blog

International Literacy Day will be celebrated on September 8, and Fond du Lac Literacy Services is celebrating by joining the statewide 1200 Tutors in 12 Weeks campaign. The annual campaign, organized by Wisconsin Literacy, runs from Literacy Day to December 1, drawing attention to the need for volunteer tutors and donations.

August is here, and students are getting ready to go back to school. It’s time to hit the books in the nonfiction section and learn something new. Here’s a funny book in the nonfiction section that can help you ace Philosophy 101--Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding PhilosophyThrough Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. This book is filled with jokes on the subjects of metaphysics, logic, and existentialism.

If you know what sesquioxidizing* is, you need to sign up right away for the Fond du Lac Literacy Services Scrabble Bee on October 3. Because if you do understand the art of sesquioxidizing, you probably already know that the word is on record as being the highest-scoring-ever in a game of Scrabble.

But if you’re like 99.99 percent of humanity, you’re more interested in having a good time and perhaps doing a good deed. These, too, will be on order at the Scrabble Bee at the Fond du Lac Public Library.

Our current display at the library features award-winning fiction and nonfiction books. Check it out. One of the award-winning authors on display is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970. I have read and re-read his book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich which is based on Solzhenitsyn’s experiences in a Soviet labor camp. This book made an impression on me. It is the story of an ordinary Russian, Shukov (Ivan Denisovich), who is in a prison labor camp in Siberia in January, 1951.

Retirement can be a great time of life, but understanding the intricacies of the paperwork can cause headaches. The Fond du Lac Public Library is offering a free class, When I’m 65, at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 20.

Presented by Julie Hilbert, senior benefit specialist from the Fond du Lac County Dept. of Senior Services, the class will provide information on insurance, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and Social Security.

It is hard to believe the month of July is almost over. Much of my summer has been spent reading light, romantic and fun books, but to be good at reader's advisory you have to be willing to read out of your "comfort zone" once in a while. Tell Me by Lisa Jackson is about as opposite of light, romantic and fun as you can get. Both thrilling and terrifying, Jackson's latest takes you on a suspenseful ride filled with both venomous snakes and creepy characters. Reading this one made me want to sleep with the lights on!

Well before upcycling became cool, Midwesterners honed the fine art of finding new ways to use discarded stuff. The August 17 Crafternoon program at the Fond du Lac Public Library will take that idea a step further. Pull-Tab Jewelry, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., will use the lowly soda can pull-tab to make surprisingly pretty accessories. Space is limited, and registration is required beginning 9 a.m. Saturday, August 3, at the Calendar, or by calling the Help Desk at (920) 322-3929.